Interregnum
by TheLastWaltz
Summary: Between the old world and the new, there is more than silence in those spaces. Shinji and Asuka return from Instrumentality and watch the world around them as it tries to rebuild. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but society cannot withstand one.
1. Prologue

Interregnum

by The Last Waltz

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Studio Khara, Starchild, and Gainax. Only the plot of this story belongs to me. If, by some bizarre stroke of fate, I get sued for this, I'll have to take this down.

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Prologue

Shinji gasped as his head broke the water, his legs pushing furiously against the sea of red that threatened to drag him into its depths, fighting to not be the first death of this new world. Inwardly, Shinji berated himself for not learning to swim as he floundered as best he could towards the shore he saw in front of him, his arms arching upwards and down again, digging into the LCL ocean in concert with his legs, propelling himself onward. Some small degree of fate was with him, though, as the blood-red tide was actually assisting him in his voyage to the beach, gently pushing him along. A few moments later, Shinji's feet gained purchase on the silty bottom of the beach, his exhausted legs pushing him a final few feet before he collapsed onto the sand, falling face-first.

He managed to push himself up on his elbows, hacking and coughing, vomiting up what must have seemed to him like gallons of LCL. The red liquid spewed forth from his stomach and his lungs, air rushing in to fill the empty space in his chest. Shinji reared back onto his knees, his back arched as he greedily sucked the air in with a massive wheeze, then pitched forward again, coughing. Thankfully the vomiting stopped, his stomach now reflexively dry heaving for a few minutes before becoming still. Taking a few deep breaths, he rose on trembling legs and staggered away from the puddle of vomit. However, his exhaustion soon caught up with him, and he dropped to the sand once more. Grunting, Shinji heaved himself onto his back, his eyes directed aimlessly at the sky, and the red streak now cutting through it. His insides twisted, and his nausea returned with a vengeance at the thought that his sins now scarred the stars as well as the earth.

Forcing himself into a sitting position, his empty eyes now scanned the beach entirely, coming to rest on a single point just offshore. The madly grinning head of Rei Ayanami, or Lilith, or both at once. A clean slice bifurcated her head from crown to chin, her dead eyes boring into Shinji's. He gazed into her lifeless orbs and as he did, he could feel everything that was left of his soul and mind draining out of his body. A sudden, screaming bolt of pain snapped his psyche back to the present and he clapped his hands over his mouth, now filled with the taste of copper. Blood stained his fingers as he drew them back. Shinji turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood. Gingerly, he stuck out his tongue and touched it lightly with two fingers. His nerve endings sang, and it was all he could do to not scream at the sensation. Apparently, as Shinji stared into the abyss of Rei's dead eyes, and his sanity slipped, Shinji's mind tripped the largest circuit breaker it could, and his body had responded by biting its tongue as hard as possible. Grimacing, he spat another mouthful of blood before affording Rei's head another glance, then turned away, forcing himself back to his feet and trudging off in the direction he had just come from.

Half a mile past the point he had landed on the beach, Shinji found a place where he felt comfortable and sat down. The pain in his tongue had receded to a painful throb, but his mouth was no longer filled with the taste of blood. The sand and LCL had dried onto his shirt, rendering it a red ruin, caked with sand and grit that itched incessantly. Rei's massive head was still in view, but Shinji no longer dared to look at it. Exhaustion once again caught up with him, and Shinji soon lay back against the warm white sands and let sleep claim him.

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A/N: Well, this is my first fanfic, so I hope you all enjoy it. Please read and review, because I'll only become a better writer through constructive criticism.


	2. Chapter 1

Interregnum

by The Last Waltz

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Studio Khara, Starchild, and Gainax. Only the plot of this story belongs to me. If, by some bizarre stroke of fate, I get sued for this, I'll have to take this down.

 _Indicates thought_

* * *

Chapter 1

Shinji awoke the next morning, his eyes fluttering as the early morning sun shone down on his face. He raised his hand to shield his face from the light as he used his other hand to push himself to his feet. He winced as he stretched, his muscles still sore from last night's ordeal. A firm breeze blew against him, tousling his hair and causing his sleeves and slacks to flutter in the wind. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he looked up at the sky, tinged with the pinkish hues of sunrise while the wind brushed the clouds along. As Shinji returned his gaze to his surroundings, he stepped back in fear, his breath caught in his chest and his heart pounding against his sternum. Dotting the shoreline, and out into the surf were the vitrified remains of the Mass Production Eva Series. The giants were pinned to the ground by their lances, yet only their torsos and heads remained, their flesh gray and stone-hard. It took a few moments, but Shinji finally calmed down once he realized that the units were no longer capable of regeneration or self-activation. Still, just to be sure, Shinji picked up the largest piece of concrete he could reliably throw, and hurled it at the closest MP Eva with a loud grunt. The rock struck the fossilized being in the chest with a thud, before falling into the sea with a red splash. The creature simply remained as it was, its jaws pointed skyward. Shinji let out a slow exhale of relief, then turned away and proceeded up the slope of the beach until he stepped onto the pavement.

In the light of the morning, Shinji walked along the beachfront road, noting the extensive damage. Windows and doors had been blown apart, and some buildings had been outright leveled or looked on the verge of collapse. Shinji stopped suddenly as his stomach growled, placing his hand on it in embarrassment. Of course, he realized, food was going to become an issue. While he lived, he was going to have to eat...and drink. Food and water were two of the basic tenets of survival, along with shelter. With that in mind, Shinji crossed the street, and started looking through the destroyed windows and doors for a shop that might have what he needed. Roughly a half-hour later, Shinji came across a convenience store. The door was barred by a security gate that was bent against its frame and refused to budge no matter how hard Shinji shook it. Sighing, Shinji took a step back and looked at the window, which was broken, but jagged. He'd really wanted to avoid going in that way, due to the possibility of getting cut. The last thing he'd wanted to do was die of blood loss after having survived the apocalypse. Still, he did need to eat, so he steeled himself and walked over to the window, kicking out some of the larger shards on the bottom, then crouching down under the top frame, stepping forward into the store. The soles of his shoes crunched on dirt, leaves, and the tattered remains of signs, displays and sales banners that once hung from the ceiling.

The sunlight only illuminated the first foot of the store's interior, so the further Shinji proceeded, the darker it got. Also, the further Shinji got, the worse the smell became. Following the stench to its source, Shinji fumbled for the handle to one of the cases, pulling it open only to be confronted by an odor that caused him to stagger backwards, coughing. A package fell out of it and landed at Shinji's feet. Gingerly, Shinji crouched down, picking it up with the tips of his fingers and carrying it back to the front of the store, where he could read the label in the light. Cheese. Of course, Shinji reasoned. The stench was coming from the dairy case. The package was warm in his hands, causing Shinji to wonder exactly how long he'd been gone. Normally refrigerated cases were insulated to prevent food from spoiling in case of short-term power loss, but for the dairy to turn would take at least a few days. Factoring in the refrigeration, it had to have been at least a week. Shinji was shaken by the revelation, but pushed it aside as he tossed the cheese to the side, wiping his hands on his slacks.

Curiosity sated, he now resumed trying to sate his hunger. He maneuvered through the aisles in the dark, until he reached the cash register. Hanging there on a swivel display were some small packages printed in glow in the dark ink. Shinji pulled one off and read it before hastily tearing it open. Now in his hand lay a medium length glowstick. He snapped the stick in the middle and shook it vigorously until the light reached its full strength. Exhaling slowly, Shinji turned around and began to browse the aisles slowly. Eventually, he happened upon a box of granola bars and picked it up, flipping the box over to read the expiration date. Luckily, it was well early of that date so he opened the box and pulled out one of the bars, unwrapping it and taking a bite. He gave it a few experimental chews before deciding that it was finally safe to eat, and finishing the bar in a few more bites. He tucked the box under his arm and deposited it on the front counter in front of the register. He then walked over to one of the refrigerators and opened it, pulling out a small bottle of lukewarm water before twisting the cap off and taking a deep swig. Shinji exhaled loudly, glad to finally be able to quench his thirst and ease the dryness in the back of his throat. He finished the bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin at the front of the store. He chuckled softly, realizing that even the end of the world couldn't break some habits. After that, he moved to the next cooler and pulled out two six packs of bottles, taking them to the register.

Shinji resumed his browsing, from aisle to aisle, grabbing things off the shelves that his common sense dictated might assist in his survival. Contrary to Asuka's opinion of him, he wasn't a total idiot. He might lack more comprehensive survival skills training, but he knew that he needed water, food, and shelter at least. Cans of soup, firewood, matches, newspapers, a tarp, some thick nylon rope, a flashlight, and several packs of batteries found their way to the register. As Shinji passed the outermost aisle, he saw a door on the wall with a sign that reminded him of another bodily urge. Hurriedly, he stepped into the restroom and locked the door behind him. He chuckled darkly as he realized that he still needed privacy in the restroom, despite being the last man on earth. Shinji flushed the toilet, scowling as it refused to fill back up. Another indicator of how long he'd been gone, the water pressure had entirely diminished. Heading back out to the store, Shinji pulled a few bottles of hand sanitizer and antibacterial hand wipes off the shelves. He walked back to the register and piled the items there along with the others. He then made his way back to the broken window and sighed. No way he was going to carry everything through that. He turned away and decided to see if there was another way out.

He tried the first door marked for employees only, jiggling the doorknob and finding it locked. He stepped behind the counter and started rifling through the drawers, finding nothing in the first two. He yanked open the third drawer and found a set of keys on a canvas strap along with a box cutter. Shinji took the keys and returned to the locked door. To his surprise, the key fit, and the lock turned without hesitation. Shinji pushed the door open and found nothing but a dark office with a safe in the corner. Sighing, he closed the door and moved on to the next door, opening that one with just as much ease as the first. Luckily for him, this door led to the loading area, with two doors set into the rear wall. One door was a regular safety door with a push bar, and the other was a large roll-up door designed for off-loading delivery trucks. The light in his hand began to flicker, causing Shinji to shake the stick and smack it against the palm of his hand. Shinji walked over to the safety door and pushed it open, letting the midday light into the warehouse. He dropped the stick into the gap, blocking the door open just enough that it wouldn't close, as he stepped outside and found a cinder block in the back parking lot. He then carried the brick to the door and pulled it open fully, using the much heavier object to keep the door open wide.

He noticed a row of shopping carts chained to one of the walls and walked over to it. Fishing out the strap of keys from his pocket, he tried the various keys on the padlock holding the carts to the wall. After a few minutes, the chain released and Shinji withdrew a cart from the column, wheeling it into the store and over some of the debris littering the floor. He parked the cart in front of the register and began loading his items into it. Shinji noted with some enthusiasm, however, that the cart now allowed him to take even more items, so he rolled into the aisles once more, picking up whatever first-aid items weren't damaged. Soon after, his cart was filled with hydrogen peroxide, gauze, bandages, aspirin, and other medications. If Shinji needed anything stronger, he would need to find a store with a pharmacy. With that done. Shinji finally turned the cart around and exited the store, passing into the back room once more. He steered the cart outside and into the midday sun, squinting as the sudden brightness assaulted his blue eyes. He then maneuvered the cart down the short three steps down to the parking lot, wincing as the bouncing jostled the objects inside. Once he and the cart were safely on the ground, he steered the cart around the corner and back onto the street, heading to an area he remembered having an entrance to an emergency shelter.

Pushing the cart, Shinji rounded a corner, then into an alley. Narrow shafts of sunlight radiated down from above, the humidity growing worse as the day progressed, his clothes sticking to his skin. Finally, Shinji reached the end of the alley. In front of him was a sliding door that would normally be opened by a key card. But without power, the door could only be opened manually by means of a crank. Sighing, Shinji was reminded of the time Rei, Asuka, and he had to make their way into NERV with no power. Ruefully, Shinji rubbed his chin where Asuka had kicked him when the three of them were climbing through NERV's air ducts. Shaking the memories off, he opened the panel covering the crank and pulled the crank's handle into position. He grunted as he began to apply his strength to the wheel, which rotated with considerable effort. The door was heavy, made to withstand catastrophic events, and painted an obscenely bright shade of orange, with yellow and black caution stripes on the bottom third of the door. Finally, the door was opened, and Shinji unpacked his flashlight, shining it into the gaping, black maw of the staircase beyond. The stairs were too narrow and too steep to safely guide his cart down without risking serious injury, he realized. It was frustrating, but there was no way for him to avoid making multiple trips if he wanted everything in the cart to come down into the shelter with him.

Hesitantly, Shinji took his first step into the pitch dark of the staircase, advancing slowly down three flights of stairs until he hit the bottom floor. Shinji passed through an open door to the right of the staircase, continuing onward, pushing against a wall of omnipresent and malevolent darkness that felt suffocating. No, not just the darkness felt heavy. The air itself felt thick enough to choke on, and smelled of copper. His heart pumped violently in his chest and his hair stood on end while sweat beaded on his forehead. He heard whispers, cries, and screams in his head as he stood fixed to the floor, immobilized by the fear surging through his body, penetrating to the bone. The concentrated sound of suffering rang through his mind as though it had been struck like a gong. The vibrations of terror roiled up from Shinji's gut until it exploded from his mouth in a scream of primal terror that caused him to launch forward in a blind run of panic. His left hip clipped something hard and unyielding in mid-step, causing him to cant to one side, unbalancing him and sending him onto his back, where he landed in something sticky and wet that smelled like blood. Letting out another, shorter scream, he launched himself back onto his feet and out a door on the other side of the room. Slamming the door behind him, he slumped back against the wall and slid down to his feet, breathing heavily, as though he had outrun the Devil himself.

He rose slowly, wincing as he placed his hand on his left hip. He shone the light around the hallway, the beam coming to rest on a sign pointing to an electrical room down the hall. Shinji followed the signs down the hall and entered the generator room where he saw three 1500 kilowatt generators. Passing the generators, he opened another door that led into the control room. There was a large panel that stretched almost the entire length of the back wall, dotted with tiny LEDs, all dark. Next to that panel was an open door-frame, with a staircase just beyond that led down. In the front of the room was a panel that took up two thirds of the length of the room, with a large picture window in front of it. Along the left wall were two panels, one marked as a transfer control panel, and the other panel painted bright red, designated for fire suppression. Secured to the right wall was a squat brown bookshelf, loaded with three-ring binders. Shinji walked over to the bookshelf and opened one of the binders. It looked like it was a collection of phone numbers. Extensions for within the shelter, and external numbers. Shinji's eyes widened as he read through some of them: the JSSDF, NERV, mayor's office, prefectural governor, all the way up to the prime minister's office. By the end, Shinji was surprised the Emperor himself hadn't been in there too. He placed the book back on the shelf, and withdrew another. Flipping through it, Shinji realized they were instructions to start the generators. They were surprisingly easy to understand, he thought. Mentally, he wondered if they were written that way deliberately, in case the engineers had been injured, and unable to activate the power supply themselves.

After reading the directions a few times, Shinji decided to try starting one of the generators. He carried the binder in one hand and the flashlight in the other as he descended the final staircase into the fuel storage room. Shining the light around the room, he saw at least a dozen fuel tanks. To his left was an alcove containing three heavy valves, attached to three large pipes labeled 'FUEL', with arrows pointing in the direction of the flow. Shinji gripped one of the valves and pushed it into a vertical position. He then did the same for the next two pipes before facing the opposite end of the alcove where he came face to face with a large crank wheel. Here, the directions instructed Shinji to generate an electrical charge to prime the pumps and start feeding fuel to the generators before going back upstairs. He gripped the handle of the wheel and cranked it furiously, keeping an eye on the LED meter as it gradually rose from red, to yellow, to green. Once it topped out, Shinji pressed a red button to close the circuit and activate the pumps. A subtle hum echoed through the darkened shelter as Shinji heard the fuel gurgling through the pipes. He quickly exited the alcove and returned to the control room, where a touchscreen on the main panel was now brightly lit. Shinji stepped over to the panel and looked at it, flipping the binder open and setting it next to the panel. He quickly found the relevant page and looked back at the panel, which asked him a single question.

[BEGIN PRIMARY ENG. SEQ. Y/N?] Exhaling deeply, Shinji pressed his index finger on the 'Y' pad. A short whine emanated from the first generator briefly before the motor ascended to full power. He looked back down at the panel and blinked as he saw another question.

[ENGAGE GEN. CRANKSET Y/N?] After looking at the manual again, Shinji pressed Y once more. The panel shifted to a status screen, with all the bars operating firmly in the green. Following the binder's guidance, he stepped back from that panel and turned towards the transfer control panel, whose own screen was now lit. Like the panel in the main bank of the room, it also asked Shinji a question.

[UTILITY POWER INTERRUPTED. GEN. 1 ACTIVATED. DISCONNECT FROM UTILITY? Y/N?] Looking down at the binder, Shinji pressed Y. The screen flickered before proceeding to ask Shinji another question.

[DISTRIBUTE GEN. 1 POWER TO LOAD. Y/N?] Sighing softly, he pressed Y once more. Seconds later, the panel responded. [GEN. 1 POWER NOW CONNECTED TO INT. SYSTEMS. POWER MUST BE RE-ENGAGED AT LOCAL BREAKERS FOR FULL DISTRIBUTION.] Exhaling in relief, Shinji flipped once more through the binder, but found nothing about the circuit breakers. Snapping the book closed, he realized it must be in one of the other binders. Walking over to the bookcase, Shinji set the binder back into its place before removing the one next to it and opening it. Surprisingly, this was exactly the one he was looking for. A map of the shelter and all the main electrical panels in it. Silently, Shinji gave thanks to the gods of organization as he stepped outside of the control room and walked to the wall to his left. He lifted the tab on a large metal panel set into the wall, the door swinging open to reveal the first circuit breaker panel. These were large industrial breakers, with a heavy handle attached to a half-dome switch. He pushed on the handle, forcing the breaker closed with a loud snap. The shelter seemed to hum, as if it were coming to life as he closed the other three breakers. He shut the panel and returned to the control room. The LED map on the back wall now shone brightly, illuminating the distribution of power throughout the shelter. Reaching out to a light switch on the wall, Shinji ticked it upwards. With a few clicks, the fluorescent light mounted on the ceiling blazed with light, causing Shinji to reach upward to shield his eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the light. For the first time in a long time, Shinji smiled. It might not be perfect, but for now, it was a good start.

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A/N: Well, here's Chapter 2. I realize Chapter 1 was short, and looking back, I honestly think I should have presented it as a prologue, rather than a full chapter. Thank you to my reviewers, because I can't write better without constructive criticism. The next chapter will hopefully be out soon.


	3. Chapter 2

Interregnum

by The Last Waltz

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Studio Khara, Starchild, and Gainax. Only the plot of this story belongs to me. If, by some bizarre stroke of fate, I get sued for this, I'll have to take this down.

 _I_ _ndicates thought_

* * *

Chapter 2

Shinji exhaled softly as he stepped into the entrance room of the shelter he was living in. In one of his hands was a mop, and the other, a bucket. Shinji's gait was reduced to a modest limp thanks to the purplish bruise on his left hip. As he walked forward, the screams and cries that echoed in his mind when he'd first arrived returned with a vengeance, the air thickening in his throat and chest, determined to suffocate him entirely, causing Shinji to cough and heave in his chest as he struggled to keep moving forward. Sweat beaded on his brow as he set the bucket on the floor. Thankfully this time, the lights were on, and he could see his surroundings, so the effects weren't quite as severe as when he entered the room the first time. Looking down at the multiple LCL stains on the floor, Shinji shuddered as he dipped the mop into the bucket and wrung it out before dropping the mop head on the first of the LCL stains. He scrubbed it clean, dipping the mop back into the bucket to leach out the orange-red fluid before wringing it out again. Much to Shinji's dismay, it seemed that the voices were growing louder in his mind, as he moved to the next stain. The air was reducing in thickness, and it was growing easier for him to breathe, but the pounding of his heart and in his head was only increasing in magnitude.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry…I'm sorry..." Shinji began to whisper repeatedly as he continued to clean the floor. His nose began to drip blood, and tears leaked from his eyes as he tried to shut out the mental assault, to little avail. The pain continued to increase as Shinji moved from one point on the floor to the other. He cast a small glance into a corner of the room, where Shinji had unceremoniously moved the clothes his 'victims' had been wearing when their bodies had dissolved into LCL. Just touching the clothes had given Shinji a mental shock, causing him to hurl them into the corner with a scream. Shinji finished with the floor thirty minutes later, dipping the mop into the bucket one final time before wringing it out. By then, Shinji was at his limits as he wheeled the bucket to the elevator, pressing the button to take him to the surface. He leaned against the wall of the elevator, dripping with sweat and panting heavily from the toll the work had taken on his mind. He had stopped whispering now, and now just looked exhausted, his eyes glassy as the doors opened onto the alley opposite the one Shinji used to enter the shelter. He wheeled the bucket ahead of him as he walked out of the elevator into the blackened night, his eyes briefly drawn upwards to see what he had dubbed the 'Red Scar'. His heart clenched, and his eyes fell back down to the street. There was a warm breeze, which gave Shinji a brief resurgence of happiness, the fresh air blowing some of the chill off of Shinji's body. Yet, his nose wrinkled at the mild scent of blood mixed with the ocean's natural smell.

The soles of his shoes crunched over broken glass as he walked, the moonlight thankfully bright enough to see by, as he crouched over a storm drain, pouring the mix of LCL and formerly hot water down the drain. Shinji had never really been one for religion, but as he poured, he prayed that whoever these people were, all the people who had been reduced to the shapeless void in the Sea, his victims; he prayed that they'd find a way to return to themselves, or that they'd be at peace. Raising himself with a shudder, Shinji trudged back to the elevator, mentally and physically spent. Still, Shinji knew he had at least one more task ahead of him. Descending back to the elevator in the shelter, he entered one of the shelter's storerooms, picking up a large paper bag and a pair of heavy rubber gloves, which he hoped would insulate him from the mental shock. Thus armed, he returned to the entrance and walked to the corner. Crouching down, he hesitantly reached out, biting his lower lip as he touched the clothes. His eyes squeezed shut as he lifted the clothes. Unlike before, the barrage of mental input was far more vague, like a badly tuned radio at a low volume. Letting out a slow exhale, he placed the clothes into the paper bag and carried them out of the room. However, instead of taking them outside, Shinji took them into the shelter's basement, to the incinerator room. Repeating his prayer from outside, he opened the incinerator's chute and slid the belongings down its throat, closing the chute once the items had disappeared. Sighing softly, Shinji walked away from the incinerator, taking the stairs up to main level. He moved towards the living quarters and into the men's showers. This shelter truly had everything necessary for long-term living, including wastewater recycling and air filtration.

Shinji stripped off his clothes, and started the shower, sighing as the hot water soothed his aching muscles. He grabbed a bottle of shampoo/body wash that he had found in the storeroom and scrubbed himself clean, his nose stinging at the heavily antiseptic smell of it. His body was leaner now, which was saying something considering his already skinny physique. Shinji turned the water off and exited the shower, drying himself as he walked to his modest room with his shoes in one hand. Shinji's thinly-carpeted room comprised of a small desk, a narrow two-person closet, a narrow two-person dresser, and a bunk bed. He paused to look in the mirror mounted on his wall above his dresser and grimaced at the reflection. His face was pale, pinched, and haggard. There were dark circles under his eyes and blotches on his lower lip from where he was constantly biting it. Turning away from his reflection, Shinji stepped back from the mirror and slid the top drawer open, withdrawing a pair of underwear and slipping them on under his towel. He then opened the second drawer and put on a new set of coveralls, followed by his socks and shoes. Rising back to his feet, he left his room and walked to the storeroom, retrieving a small tool belt before heading back to the entrance, steeling himself and taking a deep breath, bracing for yet another mental assault as he passed through the room. Nothing.

He ascended the stairs slowly, pressing the button to open the door. He stepped outside, the moon still high in the sky as he walked towards the beach. One of the changes in Shinji's habits since Third Impact is that he'd grown strangely nocturnal, preferring to work mainly at night, rather than in the day. He slipped the flashlight out of his belt and snapped it on, shining it around as he picked up debris to use for a small project he had begun about a week ago. An hour later, Shinji had assembled the materials he needed for the work he was doing. He hefted the wooden poles under his arm and carried them to the beach. Sitting on the edge of the brick wall that surrounded the beach, Shinji fished a utility knife from his belt and whittled away one of the ends of each pole until they were sharp. He looked around, considering where they might go. Unsatisfied with his current location, Shinji roamed the beach, his shoes lightly squelching the damp sand beneath them, providing a fair measure of resistance as he walked. Eventually, Shinji came to a spot where there were several small dunes that afforded each pole the opportunity to be seen. He gave a mellow smile of satisfaction as he set the poles down, save for one. He took the first one and plunged the sharp end into the earth, before pulling a hammer from his belt and pounding the stake further into the ground until it could firmly stand on its own. He then took the utility knife again and crouched in front of the pole, delicately carving out a series of kanji on the wooden stake.

"Horaki Hikari..." Shinji whispered as he rose to his feet before walking over to the next dune to set the next pole. "Aida Kensuke." he whispered. A new pole, a new name, repeated throughout the next seven stakes he embedded in the ground, finishing with "Aoba Shigeru...". Letting out a long, slow breath, Shinji rose to his feet, looking over to his right, where nearest to the surf, two stakes stood. One for his guardian, Misato Katsuragi. Even from this distance, he could see the moonlight reflecting off of Misato's cross, secured to the post with an old, rusty nail he'd happened across. The one next to hers was for his fellow pilot, Asuka. He closed his eyes and let a few tears fall as his heart squeezed in his chest. After a moment's pause, he opened his eyes again and walked over to where Asuka's marker was. He dropped to the ground, sitting next to it, and gazing out over the vast red ocean, where the petrified MP Evas kept their vigil, their eyes cast ever upwards at the sky.

Behind Shinji, an odd crunching sound came, breaking the silence of the moonlit tableau. He turned to look, and his jaw dropped. Walking towards him was none other than the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu, still clad in her red and black plugsuit. Her red hair was as vivid as always, half of it now dangling in front of the right half of her face. She cradled her right arm with her left as she dropped down unceremoniously next to him with a grunt.

She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, as Shinji merely sat there staring at her, too in shock to react.

"Well, Third? You going to say anything or are you just going to sit there staring at me like that stupid doll Ayanami?" she asked sharply, her brows narrowing as she waited for a response. Shinji's mouth worked as he struggled to come up with something coherent.

"I-uh-you-wha-how?" was the best he got before Asuka snorted and turned away, shaking her head.

"Always the stellar conversationalist, Baka Shinji." she retorted, causing Shinji to clamp his mouth shut. She sighed as she stared at the sea dispassionately before speaking again. "Shinji, why in the absolute fuck do you even come out here?" she asked, continuing to look at the LCL ocean, waiting for Shinji's response. He blinked and returned his gaze to the reddish waves that lapped against the shore.

"Because I'm waiting..." he replied simply, compelling Asuka to turn back to him, her visible and vibrantly blue eye staring at him critically.

"For what?" she responded, keeping her gaze fixed on him, the intensity of her stare causing him to fidget slightly as he sat next to her.

"Someone to come back." he answered briefly before continuing. "I've been here every night for the past three weeks." he finished, looking back towards her. She raised her eyebrow and turned away, looking back to the water.

"Such dedication...It's a shame you couldn't show the same to me when I was getting eaten alive…" she commented, her voice venomous. Shinji's head lowered slowly. "I know we were never close enough to be considered friends...but I certainly thought I was worth more to you than a cheap jack-off before leaving me to die..." she whispered. "Or maybe comatose girls are what gets you off?" she snarled. Shinji's head sank even further.

"I-I'm sorry..." he whispered, but even to him it sounded hollow as Asuka turned away from him again.

"You're sorry?! You violated me and left me to die, and you're fucking 'sorry'?!" she screamed at him. Shinji nodded dismally, tears leaking from his eyes and his breath hitching as he looked up at Asuka, who continued to hurl questions at him with ferocity. "Why didn't you come for me when I needed you?! Why were you never there when I needed you?!" Shinji jumped to his feet this time, ready to fire back.

"I tried to be there! Every time! You always pushed me away!" he shouted, as Asuka got to her feet as well, right in Shinji's face.

"Bullshit!" she screamed, shoving him backwards, her right hand leaving a bloody handprint on Shinji's coveralls. "You wanted to be there, but you never showed. Any fucking time I showed even the slightest amount of resistance you backed away. You never had the balls to stick around!"

"And you never had the balls to open up!" Shinji shouted back in response. "I may have sucked at trying to be nice, but at least I fucking tried!" he roared. "What did you do besides tease me, hate me, envy me, and break my fucking heart?!" Asuka scowled at him.

"I broke your heart…?" Asuka said quietly, trailing off. In a way, this new silence was far more damning to Shinji than Asuka's outright screaming. "If you're referring to that fucked up kiss, then, yeah, I suppose that was cruel..." she said, pausing before looking up into Shinji's darker blue eyes. Suddenly, her left hand shot out with ferocious speed, clamping around his thin neck and squeezing tightly. His throat worked as he struggled for air, his hands squeezing at Asuka's wrist, trying to pry her hand loose with no success. "I trusted you too, Baka Shinji. Not entirely, but enough to at least have believed you wouldn't do something as sick as violate my body and betray what little trust I had in you." she said quietly.

Shinji's body thrashed violently in her grip as Asuka reached up with her right hand to brush her hair back from the hidden half of her face, revealing a void where her right eye would usually be. As she pushed her hair back, a bright seam of red began to appear, starting at the tips of her fingers and descending along the length of her arm, up from her elbow until it reached her shoulder. She reached out to caress Shinji's face, but just before she touched him, the arm split open lengthwise and Shinji used the last remaining air in his lungs to scream for just a moment before the world turned black.

Shinji sat bolt upright on the beach with a loud scream, his hand grasping at his throat, his eyes darting around wildly as he gasped for air. Slowly, Shinji began to come back to reality, his eyes scanning the beach, still wide with fear and shock. ' _Just a nightmare...'_ Shinji thought to himself as he rose to his feet shakily, his eyes seeing no one and nothing out of the ordinary as he turned his body around to look at the beach from all sides. As he observed his surroundings, his gaze once again fell on Rei's dismembered head, easily the tallest object for miles around. The full height of Eva Unit 01 would barely reach Rei's lower lip in this situation. Rather than risk being tempted to look into her eyes again, Shinji wrenched himself away and walked back up the beach towards the street, brushing sand off his coveralls as he went. He turned one last time to look back at the beach, and saw nothing. As he walked, he heard Asuka's voice again, this time in his head.

" _You'll be back tomorrow, Baka Shinji, because you and I both know you're not waiting for me, or Misato. What you're waiting for is the truth."_

 _"What truth?"_ Shinji responded, though he already knew the answer.

 _"_ _You want to know whether or not the world saw as much into your mind as you saw into theirs. You want to know, if they know, that you ended the world. You're not waiting for people. You're waiting for judgment..."_ Shinji's hand paused as he reached for the shelter door, listening to Asuka continue. _"And now you're going to park yourself in the radio room for the rest of the night, calling out, and waiting for a response that might never come. How boring."_ the Asuka in his head sighed. Shinji pulled the door open and walked downstairs into the shelter, returning his tool belt to the storeroom. Shinji then headed back in the direction of the living quarters, stopping once he reached the fork in the hallway that would either take him to his room, or to the communication center. He looked in both directions, before heading to the radio room. His gut churned as he walked, Asuka echoing inside his head again. _"_ _Called it."_ she riffed as Shinji entered the PIN number, which he'd found in a binder in the security office ten days ago. He walked into the room, turning on the light and taking a seat at the large console. He slipped on a pair of bulky headphones and pulled the mic towards him, pressing the large red button on the console's panel. A flashing red light in front of him informed Shinji that he was now transmitting. Asuka offered one last parting shot before vanishing into the recesses of Shinji's mind. _"I can't tell if you're stupid, stupidly noble,_ _a masochist, or if this is your attempt at third-party_ _suicide...Maybe it's all of the above."_ she whispered, her voice fading away.

"Shut up." Shinji uttered aloud, shaking his head briefly to clear it before leaning forward and speaking into the mic. "This is emergency shelter three-zero-five-five, broadcasting a general distress call to anyone in the area. This shelter is located in the city of Kamakura, twelve miles northeast of Tokyo-3. If anyone can hear this...this city is dead, and I am all that remains…" Shinji swallowed the thick lump in his throat before continuing. "My name is Ikari Shinji, and...I am..." Shinji paused as he considered who he was. Son of Gendo and Yui Ikari, middle-school student, Eva pilot, rapist, murderer, pawn, and accidental God. All those were true, but, none of those were what mattered right now. Exhaling slowly, Shinji resumed speaking. "I am the last survivor of Tokyo-3, and I am alone.." he uttered, his voice sent out into the void in the form of electromagnetic waves. He reached out and flicked the switch once more, waiting to receive any response that might come. Instead, there was nothing. Not even static greeted Shinji. Only the dead and empty air.

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A/N: Well, it's been a while. Here's (a much delayed) second chapter. I renumbered the previous ones in keeping with my belief that the former chapter one was just a prologue. Hopefully the next chapter comes much sooner. Thank you to my reviewers, each and all. Your support means a lot.


	4. Chapter 3

Interregnum

by The Last Waltz

Rating: M

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Hideaki Anno, Studio Khara, Starchild, and Gainax. Only the plot of this story belongs to me. If, by some bizarre stroke of fate, I get sued for this, I'll have to take this down.

 _Indicates thought or emphasis_

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Shinji stood in the night, along the curving beachfront road and around a corner where the severed head of the Second Angel could not torment him with its dead stare and horrific grin, his form silhouetted by the light of a fire spilling out from what was once the front of a convenience store. It had been eight weeks since he had returned from the sea of LCL, and no one had yet joined him. He still lived in the shelter beneath the city, and spent most nights locked in the radio room, calling out into the void that was once the world. Other nights, he went to the beach, sitting on the blood-stained sands and staring out into the sea, waiting for someone to return. Each time he went home disappointed. However, he had formed for himself an iron-clad rule to never look into the eyes of the fallen Angel. One night he had tried, and the longer he stared into her eyes, the greater the pull had been to return to the sea and evaporate once more into the depths of Instrumentality. Once again, his mind had enacted its safety protocols and he had bit his tongue again, the pain striking like a gong, cutting through Lilith's siren song.

"What the fuck, Third?" Asuka asked, standing next to him as the two of them calmly watched the store burn. Shinji turned to look at her, blinking in surprise, before the reality of the situation sunk back in.

"Oh...right. You're still just in my head." he replied, sighing and turning back to the store. The Asuka in his mind gave something of a noncommittal shrug before responding.

 _"_ _Yeah, I'm a hallucination. So what? Doesn't make the situation any less weird, Third."_ Shinji just snorted in response. _"I mean, really? Pyromania? Is this who or what we are now? You set a_ _convenience_ _store on fire because you're lonely? Imagine what Wonderbitch would think."_ the Asuka in his mind finished with a mock gasp of horror. Shinji's fist clenched in anger as his teeth ground.

"Ayanami? WHERE THE FUCK IS AYANAMI?! She gave me the strength to come back to a dead world, and told me that people could come back if they wanted to, but no one does! No one wants to come back to this red hell! I am going to live and die as the last man on Earth! The last thing my mother told me was that anywhere could be paradise if you want it to be. There's no paradise here, only rot and decay, and me. This city is falling apart and my mind is going with it! There's nothing living here, and nothing to live for! God damn SEELE, God damn Father, God damn everyone who used us, and God damn...me for being stupid enough to create this fucked up place..." he trailed off, dropping onto his backside in the middle of the street. Even as the flames grew higher, Shinji shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. He drew his knees up to his chest and simply stared into the flames. His eyebrows barely flicked upwards as the roof collapsed down into the store as it continued to burn. Luckily, he was on the outskirts of the city, on the opposite end of the beach, so there was no risk of other buildings burning with the store.

After a while, Shinji picked himself up and walked down the three concrete steps that separated the sidewalk from the beach, and started to tread along the white sand, just before it turned red at the foot of the tide, the crusty material clinging to his shoes as he traversed the shoreline. Deciding on a change of pace, he decided to eschew his typical coveralls, and wear his school uniform tonight. Black pants, white shirt. Before he knew it, he was passing the grave markers he had erected, and as he rounded the corner, the face of Lilith. Shinji felt the familiar leaden squeeze in his gut as he forced his gaze away from the fallen demigod. Feeling his strength expended, he simply fell back into the white sand, gazing upwards at the crimson streak that sliced through the sky. The wind shifted, and Shinji looked to his right, his eyes widening at the sight of Rei Ayanami, hovering over the red sea in her school uniform. He blinked, and she had vanished once more. His mind then registered a presence next to him, and he looked to his left, his eyes widening further as he saw the form of Asuka Langley Soryu lying next to him. Shinji's heart erupted with a million emotions as his pulse skyrocketed. Was this how Ayanami deigned to torment him despite her assurances? Maybe Ayanami's words themselves were a cruel ploy to twist his mind and his hopes. His hands clenched as white-hot rage spread through his body. It was her, the image of Asuka that tormented him every day and night for the past eight weeks. If he could kill his hallucinations, Shinji believed he might finally find peace. Asuka. The girl who had abandoned him when he needed her most. Asuka. The girl who was every inch his mirror in ways both good and bad. Before he had even realized it, he was straddling her with his hands around her throat, intent on squeezing the life out of her. Shinji's features shifted into a mask of hatred as he gradually increased the pressure on Asuka's windpipe. Slowly, and just before she lost consciousness, she reached up to gently placed her bandaged palm on Shinji's cheek and caressed it tenderly.

At the feeling of Asuka's touch, Shinji's hands ceased their efforts to end her life. His face now ran through a mixture of shock, fear, and bitter remorse before his head now dropped onto her chest, sobbing as his hands left her throat and instead gripped her shoulders as tight as he could. Soryu's face however, remained impassive as she looked up at the sky, and the bright red stripe now banding the stars.

"How disgusting..." Asuka rasped out quietly as Shinji lifted his head from her chest, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"What is?" he inquired, sounding every bit as exhausted as she did, looking down at Asuka, from where he was still straddling her. Asuka angled her eyes to fix Shinji with a penetrating gaze.

"A lot, Third." she replied, reaching up to rub at her throat. "I have a whole fucking list, and we'll be going over it, line by line, until I get the answers I want." she finished, the hoarseness in her throat getting worse as she spoke. "Now get the hell off me, Baka Shinji." she growled, causing Shinji to roll off her as if she were about to attack him. Asuka grunted as she tried to force herself up into a sitting position, using her elbows and forearms to brace her body. Shinji stepped forward to try and help her but she waved him off furiously. "Don't you fucking dare, Third!" she shouted, before looking up at Shinji's crestfallen expression. She sighed and decided to try again, her voice coming out as a croak, the shouting worsening her already raw throat. "I know you want to help, Ikari, but firstly, you just tried to kill me, and secondly, I need to be able to move on my own." she explained, her voice barely a whisper by the time she finished. Shinji let out a long, slow breath, nodding his head. He understood her point of view, but he at least wanted to do something for her. He looked around and spotted the same store he had broken into when he arrived. He thought about reaching out to pat her shoulder, but held back.

"I'll be right back. Just stay here until I get back." he said, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, but Asuka just gave him a critical look in response before softening slightly.

"My muscles feel like fucking jello, Third. I don't think I'm going anywhere." she responded in a dry rasp. Shinji exhaled through his nose and nodded.

"All right, then. Be back as quick as I can." he said, turning to leave and jogging off. A few minutes later, Shinji rounded the corner and entered the store through the delivery door, using the keys he still carried with him, just in case. The lock turned easily, and he stepped inside, once more stopping the door with the same cinder block. The store's emergency cabinet was mounted next to the door, so he was able to easily find the flashlight. He quickly grabbed a box of granola bars out of a larger box along with a six pack of water bottles and headed back towards the beach. Once he arrived, he saw that Asuka had managed to rise to her feet. "Asuka, I got some stuff!" he called out, only to receive no response. "Asuka!" he shouted again, before finally noticing that her body had gone rigid and was staring out to the sea. Cautiously, he looked over her shoulder, past her, towards the maliciously grinning head of Lilith. Dropping the supplies, he raced towards the red-headed German and leapt in front of her, waving his arms and shouting to distract her. Then it occurred to him, pain. Pain seemed to interfere with Lilith's abilities. Making up his mind to apologize later, Shinji reached out and gripped her side and pinched as hard as he could, twisting her flesh between his fingers. Asuka yelped in pain and lashed out with her left hand, striking Shinji hard in the cheek and sending him tumbling onto the sand.

"What the fuck, Third?!" she shouted again, trying to kick him as he rolled away on the beach.

"Well, I'm glad that worked..." he grumbled as he rose to his feet, reaching up to touch his already swelling cheek and wincing in pain. He turned his head and spat out a crimson blotch. "You looked, didn't you?" he stated in a tired voice. Asuka's pointed glare spoke volumes as Shinji just nodded his head in response. "Sorry I didn't warn you before I left. I didn't think you'd have the energy to stand up yet." he said, before rising to his feet and walking back over to where he had dropped the supplies. He picked up the six-pack and box of granola bars and returned to where Asuka stood before tearing one of the bottles from the pack and handing it to her. She snatched the bottle from him and twisted the cap off, drinking greedily. The water was a sweet mercy to her vividly parched throat, still sore from Shinji's aborted strangulation. She coughed and Shinji reached over to pat her on the back, which Asuka responded to by swatting his hand away and waving him off.

"I-" she began, before being cut off another barrage of small coughs. "I'm alright. Just give me a minute." she finished, trailing off and looking over at Shinji. "What the hell was that, Ikari?" she asked, gesturing over her shoulder at Lilith's bifurcated head. Her fellow pilot could only shrug as he stood next to Asuka, also facing away from the remains of the second Angel.

"I think its name was Lilith, the second Angel. It was here when I got here, and when I looked at it, it did the same thing to me. I heard its voice, calling me back towards the sea, so I could join everyone again. I damn near bit my tongue in half trying to shut her out." he finished, a grimace once more crossing his face. Asuka stood there silent, trying to gauge Shinji's reaction. "Oh, right..." he began again, opening the top of the box of granola bars and offering her one. "Did you want a granola bar?" he asked, sounding almost cheerful. Asuka looked at him, a deep unsettling feeling taking root in the pit of her stomach.

"Uh, sure..." she responded, gingerly reaching out to take a bar from the box. She unwrapped the bar and chewed slowly, alternating with sips from the water bottle. She gave an approving hum as she ate. Chocolate chip, her favorite flavor. She gazed along the beach, careful to keep her eyes away from the massive head on her right. Her mouth stopped moving and her heart caught in her chest as she finally saw the crucified forms of the Mass Production Eva Series. Her body froze, and goosebumps rose on her skin as her lips curled into a snarl before she let out a terrible scream of rage. Any feeling of exhaustion was immediately vaporized as she found the strength to propel herself towards the red tide. Shinji was lost in his own thoughts until he heard Asuka scream and watched her as she began to run. He surprised even himself with his speed as he managed to catch Asuka around the waist and bring them both down onto the wet sand. They wrestled there in the surf, with Asuka screaming as she struggled to break free of his hold. Her elbow smashed into Shinji's chin, sending his head reeling backwards and allowing her to use the opportunity to drive her knee up into Shinji's stomach, taking the wind out of him. He dropped to his knees in the surf, bloody waves cresting up to the middle of his chest. Taking the last reserves of his strength, he shouted as loud as he could, hoping that Asuka would hear him.

"ASUKA, THEY'RE DEAD!" he screamed, before coughing convulsively, his arms wrapped around his midsection as his diaphragm begged for salvation. He rose to his feet slowly, on shaky legs as he looked to where Asuka stood in shoulder-high LCL. Gradually, she turned to face him as she watched him do the same thing he had the first night he arrived. Shinji picked up a heavy, fist-sized chunk of concrete and hurled it at the closest MP Eva, hitting it in the chest. Once again, there was no reaction from the beast.

Standing alone in the sea of Instrumentality, Asuka bit her lip and lowered her head as tears poured from her undamaged eye. She sobbed loudly, not caring whether or not Shinji heard her. Her body ached, especially her thickly wrapped right arm. Asuka stood there silently, staring at the ruined bodies of the Eva series for a long while before turning around and swimming back to shore. She let her body drop onto the wet sand, looking down at the sand once more, with her legs held tightly against her chest as Shinji came and sat next to her. He sat with her in silence, only the sound of the waves keeping them company as Asuka rose her head to look out at the ocean once more. After a moment, she spoke once more.

"Let's get the hell out of here, Third." she demanded quietly, trying to rise to her feet, her legs wobbling before she unceremoniously dropped back to the ground. Shinji simply looked at her as she struggled to get up. After a few minutes she looked up at the former pilot of Unit-01, grudgingly deciding to ask for his help. "You plan on helping me, or just watching me humiliate myself?" she asked, more frustrated with herself than him. Her voice spurred him into action, though, as he crouched down and slung Asuka's left arm over his shoulder, and his right arm moved around her waist. Once he returned to his normal height, he looked over at Asuka.

"You ready?" he asked, to which Asuka simply nodded her head.

"Yeah, yeah. Just go slow..." she replied quietly. Shinji nodded this time, supporting Asuka as they made their way from the beach. Out of the corner of Asuka's eye, she caught a glimpse of something glowing. "Huh..." Asuka stated, causing Shinji to look in the same direction as Asuka's gaze. "That convenience store's on fire..." she informed him blankly. Shinji's expression turned wooden as he stared at the flames for a few minutes.

"Yeah... I noticed that on the way down here." he replied quietly, leading her past the grave markers he had set up over a month ago. She gave his shoulder a squeeze, looking past him at the row of crosses.

"Wait, wait. Stop." she ordered, disengaging herself from Shinji and taking tentative steps towards the markers. Her auburn hair fluttered in the breeze as she moved from cross to cross, muttering the engraved names. "Hikari, Toji, Kensuke..." she read off the names, turning silent as she came to Misato's, reaching out to touch the silver cross Shinji had nailed to the stake with their purple-haired commander's name on it. Tears welled up in Asuka's eyes for a moment before she wiped them away with the back of her hand. A torrent of emotions welled up in Asuka as she remembered her time in Instrumentality. Like Shinji, she too had seen Misato in bed with Kaji. She knew it was childish to lust after Kaji. She knew that, just like she knew that Misato and Kaji were all but certainly going to become a couple again. She would never admit it to herself, but she knew. However, watching them in the throes of passion still felt like a knife in her heart. It was still too raw for her to tell Shinji about it, so she simply stood there stoically for a few minutes, staring at the cross before walking away. Finally, Asuka walked over to her own grave marker. "Shinji..." she called, a quiet, unsettling edge to her voice.

"Y-yeah?" he asked, stepping forward slowly, taking note of the calm, dangerous tone she was using. She remained motionless as she stood in front of the marker that quietly proclaimed her possible death or refusal to return from the red ocean that stretched out behind her.

"When did you put these up?" she asked, her voice still in that same eerie calm. A calm, Shinji judged, just before the storm. Swallowing audibly, Shinji responded.

"About three weeks after I got here." he replied, looking down and away, towards the burning convenience store.

"And because no one had come back yet, you decided to make graves?" she queried, a newly dim pit of anger warming in her chest. "Did you think we weren't coming back at all?" she further pressed. Shinji rose his hands in his defense, even though Asuka hadn't turned to face him and was still standing in front of her own cross.

"No!" he exclaimed, before amending. "...and yes." stepping backwards. "Just before I left the sea, Rei told me that anyone who was strong enough to imagine themselves as individuals could return, but she didn't tell me how long it might take. I had already been here three weeks, alone. Hallucinations were beginning to set in, and I wasn't sure how much more my mind could take." he began to explain, as Asuka finally turned around to face him. "I...wasn't sure if I was going to be around for much longer. On the off chance I...decided to end things before anyone returned, I wanted to leave something behind to at least show that I remembered you, that I missed you, and...I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to wait for you." The pit of anger in Asuka's vanished, leaving behind a hollow, cold feeling that twisted her insides into knots.

"If you put these up on your third week here, how long have you been here?" she asked, not quite sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Eight weeks..." Shinji answered simply. Asuka's heart squeezed in her chest as Shinji elaborated. "I'm sorry for trying to strangle you earlier. I honestly thought you were another hallucination. I thought if I killed you, the hallucinations might stop." he finished sheepishly. Asuka was silent at that, the only sounds between them were the surf and the breeze.

"And the...uh, store on fire?" she asked nervously. Shinji looked to his right, noting that the fire was starting to diminish as it ran out of fuel.

"Oh, yeah. That was me, wasn't it?" he remarked nonchalantly. "I honestly can't remember for the life of me why I did it, though." he commented quietly. "Is this what it feels like to lose your mind?" he asked, turning towards Asuka, tears running down his cheeks. Feeling the wetness on his face, Shinji reached up to touch one of his cheeks."What?" he asked, confused, pausing briefly before continuing. "...Why am I crying?" he wondered, as he sank to his knees and wept, covering his face with his gritty, sand-caked hands.

Asuka stood over him, biting her lower lip as she closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn't be angry with him for what he'd done since returning. Not now. She had attended some psychology classes during her university studies, and understood the effects of isolation on a person. All she could do was pity Shinji, alone for eight weeks without any human contact beyond his own hallucinations. She realized now that his mind was a wreck, and needed more counseling than she could provide for him. But she also realized that the two of them needed to survive, and that he was going to have to put his issues aside if they were going to make it until some form of authority resurfaced.

"Come on, Baka Third." she urged, bending over to grip one of his arms by the elbow and lift him off the ground. He limply rose to his feet, wiping his eyes and face after brushing his hands off on his pant legs. "We need to find a place to stay tonight." she informed him, as the store Shinji had set on fire finally caved in entirely, collapsing to the ground with a loud crash. Neither one of them bothered to look.

"There's-" Shinji broke off with a slight hiccup as the last of the sniffles left him. "a shelter nearby. That's where I've been living." he finished, returning to his position as Asuka's support. With that, the two of them made off down the street towards Shinji's new habitat. The normally fifteen minute walk took twenty-five this time, as Shinji had to moderate his pace to match the still-recovering Asuka. Once there, Shinji pressed the button for the freight elevator which dinged and opened for them less than a minute later. He helped Asuka inside, where she leaned against the wall as her fellow pilot thumbed the button to take them to the living quarters. The doors parted with a soft whoosh, and Asuka once again leaned on the younger Ikari for assistance. He first led her to the main warehouse, where she picked out a set of blue coveralls in her size, along with a set of plain white undergarments and some boots. While she was doing that, he went to the opposite side of the warehouse and gathered for her a bottle of their stock shampoo/body wash and a tube of toothpaste with a toothbrush. He also managed to find her some towels. After their shopping spree, Shinji took her to the women's showers. "Just let me know if you need anything. I'll just be outside." he offered gamely, though his face still looked somewhat ashen from earlier.

"Thanks, Third. But I'm sure I'll be fine." she replied, quietly, closing the door to the female locker room with her right hand, her supplies in her left. As imperceptibly as she could, she locked the door behind her. Put simply, she couldn't quite trust Shinji until he got a better handle on his own mental state. Exhaling softly she walked over to a long mirror attached to the wall above a row of sinks. _"Well...time to check the damage."_ she thought to herself as she first reached up to the patch over her left eye. She winced as she gingerly peeled the bandage off her eye. She kept the eye closed once the bandage was off, opening her eye gradually. The pain was exquisite as she willed herself to keep opening her eye, the orb watering as it forced itself to adjust to the light. As her vision focused, she saw red streaks covering her sight. It took her a brief second to realize that it was her own hair. She reached up and brushed the interfering strands back behind her ear. To her surprise, there weren't any severe scars or damage. Just a thin, pinkish circle that was hardly noticeable. Taking this as a good sign, Asuka unwrapped the bandage around her right arm before decompressing her plugsuit and pulling the filthy garment from her body. Just like with her eye, there was a thin line trailing along the top and bottom of her arm, all the way from palm to shoulder. There were also staccato bursts of jagged lines along her stomach. She reached downwards and ran her fingers over the marks on her stomach. Just flat skin. The marks were only discolorations, not rough scars. She let out a long sigh of relief before walking over to the shower and turning on the water. She would have been satisfied with a cold shower, but found herself pleasantly encouraged by the fact that Shinji had been able to somehow procure hot water. Shinji. Fuck. Now there was a conundrum. Through Instrumentality, she had seen Shinji's actions, in the hospital room, the way he had hidden in the halls, waiting to take a bullet, and how Shinji had reacted once his Eva had finally gotten to the surface. She'd be damned if he didn't answer some of her questions about the lead-up to Third Impact, but he needed to be sane first. Until then, she wasn't sure she could trust him. Who knows? Maybe just having someone around to talk to could take care of some of the issues. She was fairly certain he'd need therapy for some of his deeper problems. Then again, she realized, so might she. She growled at the thought, then shook it away, deciding instead to focus on the simple joy of a hot shower. After a while, she turned off the water, her nose wrinkling at the smell of the astringent shampoo and soap she had to use. Asuka dressed quickly and unlocked the door, stepping back out into the hallway with her plugsuit hung over her left arm. True to his word, Shinji was sitting cross-legged next to the entrance.

"Hey." he said, briefly, looking up at her with a faint smile.

"Hey." she replied, though looking at him with a more blank expression as Shinji got back to his feet with a grunt, only to slip back down slightly. "Ah, damn it..." he groaned as Asuka flicked her eyebrows upwards at him.

"You all right, Ikari?" she questioned, as the son of Gendo Ikari wobbled on his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. Just...fucking pins and needles..." Asuka snorted while she watched him start to hop around on one leg.

"Are you telling me your leg fell asleep while you were waiting?" she asked, trying to suppress her laughter at Shinji's jerky movements. His face turned red as he tried to stretch out his afflicted leg.

"Bite me." he snapped back as he rubbed his leg to regain circulation.

"The feared Angel killer, Shinji Ikari defeated by sitting on his own ass." she retorted, no longer able to hold back her snickers. Shinji just grumbled as his leg finally returned to normal. "Come on, o' vanquishing hero. Show me where the beds are." she urged, stifling a yawn.

Sighing, he led her towards the same hallway he stayed in, opening the door to the room next to his. Just like his, the room was outfitted with a bunk bed, cheap desk/drawers combination, and a two-person wardrobe. The hard halogen lighting giving the room a spare utilitarian feeling. "I'm in the room next door if you need me." he said, giving her one more smile before leaving. She gave him a light smile as he left, closing the door behind him. Once the door was shut, the smile faded as she waited to hear the door to his room close. As soon as she heard it, she thumbed the deadbolt fast into the door jamb. She walked over to the wardrobe and hung her plugsuit inside before moving to the bottom bunk and removing her boots and coveralls. She then slipped under the covers and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

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Author's Note: Hello again, readers. Sorry for the long delay, but I always wondered what happened the night Asuka came back. What Shinji might have been doing that night before Asuka showed up on the beach, and how the pieces all fit together. The next chapters will focus on Asuka's attempts to acclimate to the new world and cope with Shinji's new mental state. Please keep reading and reviewing, and post some questions if you like. I'll answer them in the next note section. Thank you for all your support.


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